The cellar.
10 guides organized by spirit. Each one is 8 cocktails worth pouring tonight, with the manuscript page where applicable and the tasting notes that explain why each drink works.
All cocktail pages
Cocktails with rye whiskey
Rye whiskey is the spine of pre-prohibition American cocktail culture. Before bourbon dominated the 20th century, rye was what bartenders reached for — spicier,…
Cocktails with gin
Gin is the most cocktail-friendly spirit on earth. Botanical, aromatic, takes vermouth and citrus better than any whiskey. The pre-prohibition manuscripts have …
Cocktails with vodka
Vodka is the blank canvas of spirits. Almost no flavor of its own, which is exactly why it works in dozens of cocktails — it's a vehicle for citrus, ginger, and…
Cocktails with bourbon
Bourbon is America's spirit — sweet, vanilla-forward, oak-finished. While rye dominated pre-prohibition cocktails, bourbon took over after Repeal in 1933 and ne…
Cocktails with tequila
Tequila is having a renaissance. Premium 100% agave bottles are everywhere, and the cocktail repertoire has expanded far beyond the margarita. Here are 8 tequil…
Cocktails with rum
Rum is the most misunderstood spirit in the American liquor cabinet. It's the foundation of pre-prohibition tropical drinks (Daiquiri, 1898), the cornerstone of…
Cocktails with scotch
Scotch is for sipping, not mixing — that's the conventional wisdom, and it's mostly wrong. Pre-prohibition manuscripts have plenty of Scotch cocktails, and the …
Cocktails with Campari
Campari is the most-divisive ingredient in the bar — bitter, herbal, blood-red, polarizing. The drinks built on it are some of the most enduring cocktails in th…
Cocktails with vermouth
Vermouth is fortified wine flavored with herbs, spices, and aromatics. It's the secret ingredient in nearly every classic stirred cocktail — Manhattan, Martini,…
Cocktails with amaro
Amaro means 'bitter' in Italian — a category of herbal liqueurs ranging from light and citrusy (Aperol) to gentian-bitter (Suze) to dense and chocolate-coffee (…
Cook with what you already own.
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